Australian Jarred Gillett will become the first overseas referee to officiate a Premier League match when he takes charge of Watford’s home match against Newcastle United at Vicarage Road on Saturday.
Gillett, 34, was promoted to the highest Select Group of referees by Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) ahead of the current 2021/22 season in June.
He spent nine years in his native country officiating in the A-League, Australia’s highest professional men’s soccer league, before moving to England in 2019 to referee in the EFL.
Gillett officiating Bristol City versus Cardiff City in the Championship.
Having officiated in League Two, League One and the Championship across the 2019/20 campaign, the Australian took charge of the Championship playoff semifinal second leg between Brentford and Bournemouth.
Gillet awarded a penalty and sent off a Bournemouth defender in a thrilling 3-1 victory for Brentford — the West London side defeating Swansea in the final to end its 74-year absence from the top tier of English football.
The Australian official has Premier League experience this season as a Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
Watford will be seeking to build on its victory against Norwich last weekend, while Newcastle continues its search for its first win this season.
Official history
Gillett becomes the second of three referees to make history this month, following Luis Godhino’s appearance in France’s Ligue 1 last week.
In taking charge of Bordeaux’s 3-2 defeat at home to Lens, Godhino became the first Portuguese referee to officiate a Ligue 1 match.
Luis Godinho refereeing Sporting CP against SC Braga in Portugal’s Liga NOS.
Maia Chaka rounded out September’s history makers when she became the first Black woman to officiate an NFL game, overseeing the New York Jets against the Carolina Panthers.
Earlier this year, Rebecca Welch became the first appointed female referee to take charge of an EFL game, 11 years after Amy Fearn had become the first woman to officiate an EFL game having replaced an injured referee in the game’s closing stages.
In May, further soccer refereeing history was written when Sapir Berman officiated an Israeli Premier League match for the first time since coming out as transgender.
